Face Down
by people-alwayz-leave
Summary: "That was the only way out." I nod but begin searching around the room anyway. With his life in my hands and probably about fifteen different guns trained on the back of my head, I had to think quick. "I hate you Sark."
1. Visibly Deflated? Good!

**A/N: I KIND OF HIT A ROAD BLOCK ON MY OTHER ALIAS FIC "ALL THESE LIVES" AND SO I DECIDED TO START THIS ONE. I STARTED IT A LONG TIME AGO, SO HERE GOES. LET'S TRY THIS ONE ON FOR SIZE…**

A thick fog of smoke and the stench of cheap bear and wine almost knocked me down as I walked through the door. It wasn't doing a thing for my headache but I had to find him. That part wasn't optional. The mission was simple really. Actually, just really simple. We had to infiltrate a lab in Tokyo and collect some information. No retrieval, no targets to take out, no heavy security. Nothing. Just simplicity. It was a level one op. And he got caught! I fight the urge to scoff out loud. They hadn't seen me, I was sure. How could they see anything through the smog?

I was wearing one of those cute little outfits men insist on making hot maids wear. You know, the most degrading things they can stick them in and still call it a uniform. Uniform my ass. The whole kit and kaboodale, complete with a gun in my apron and a knife in my boot. I heard his voice coming from the far side of the room over the clamor of the morons that called themselves guards. Men like them make my job so much easier. "I told you I'm alone you buffoon!" I fight the urge to roll my eyes. It was just like him to insult the man who could potentially kill you at any moment. "And before you ask, yes I work for myself." I heard a sickening smacking sound. They were already to the roughing up part? They hadn't even had him that long. They must have known for sure that he was lying. Which meant they knew for sure he wasn't alone.

"There's no need to lie, monsieur. I am going to kill you anyway. Why not make yourself an honest man first?" I hear him snort. I recognize the voice now. The heavy French accent could only mean one man. Thomas Killgore. Funny, his real name was Killgore. And he was very good at both parts of his name. Not so funny part? He and I had worked together during my time at SD-6. You can imagine, this isn't going to end well. I need a plan. Now.

A harsh voice beside me barked at me in French to exit the room. I nodded and set the tray down. With his head turned momentarily, I fired off a round towards the general direction of the ceiling. It had the desired effect. No one had a clue what was going on or who was shooting through the smog and the haze they were surely in. "Thomas!" I was shouting his name, fighting for his attention over his idiots on his payroll. "Syd?! Syd?! Get down, darling!" He kept shouting to me until I followed his voice to the other side of the room to him, hiding the gun in my apron again.

The smoke wasn't clinging to this side of the room and I could finally see clearly for the first time all night. I could see they had plenty of "roughing up" time. That was Thomas' favorite part as I recall. I had to get us out of here. Preferably alive.

"You?!" I was proud that my voice came out shocked as planned instead of betraying the concern I really felt. "You two know each other?" Apparently, his French accent had grown heavily over the time we had been apart. He was too predictable. He would bait. He always baits.

"I thought I killed you in London." His eyes snapped to mine.

"It's called a hospital." His comment was rewarded with a backhand from Thomas.

"So what did you do now?" I was still trying to figure out my plan. How was I going to get us out of this one?

"I almost infiltrated this idiot's laboratory." He almost had the nerve to sound proud.

"Almost only counts in horse-shoes and hand grenades. You have neither. And you managed to get caught at the same time." He nodded, visibly deflated. _Good, _I thought. _This is his stupid fault._

"What if I wanted you to catch me?" He was looking me straight in the eyes now. He was trying to tell me something. Now if I could only figure out what that something might be, we'd be doing good. I laughed at his comment, not giving him a response just yet. "And why would that be?" Thomas interrupted me again. And then I knew what I was going to do. Finally, he looked at Thomas. "To kill you." Thomas looked taken aback. He should have expected that by now. "And how do you plan on doing that, Monsieur. Gars Dur? In case you haven't noticed, you are handcuffed to the chair you are currently planted in." He simply winked at me.

Yeah, that was definitely a cue. Sooner than Thomas could blink, I had my gun trained right between his eyes. "Let him go." The adrenaline was pumping so fast I didn't have time to think it through. I realized I was really in no position to be giving out the orders. Thomas knew it too. Hell, even his morons knew it. "Sydney, Sydney, Sydney. Did you learn nothing from our time together?" Before I knew it, I heard the safety click off of the gun that was pressed to the base of my neck. I held up my hands, gun still firmly in grip. "I don't like to be threatened Thomas." I turned and delivered a round house kick to the man behind me before he could fire off a shot. The gun went spiraling through the air and landed on the ground, the buffoon following close behind. But then more came. More always come.

Thomas had the good sense to look almost surprised and I was pretty sure the good standing I had with him was lying next to his goon on the floor in a heap. "Don't you get it? This guy is CIA, Sydney! He's working against us! Everything we worked for!" Yeah, he's definitely mad. He obviously hadn't done his homework and I planned on using that to my advantage. "I know stupid! I want to kill him myself. But my way, on my terms. That's why I'm here. I can't very well do that if you kill him now can I?" I took a deep breath, I needed to sell this because he didn't look convinced yet. I had to play his emotions. "He betrayed me in London, Thomas. He left me for dead and now I want him dead. "Fair enough." Thomas motioned to the men surrounding us and they all but fled the room.

"Have a seat." He pulled the chair out for me and I cautiously took it.

"Still don't trust me?" I smiled.

"About as much as I trust him." Thomas nodded.

"Why are you working with CIA now?" _Good question._

"He's my supplier. He wanted to defect, we met in London to trade money for op-tech and weapons he steals from the CIA for a pretty penny." Thomas looked impressed.

"Underestimating me again?" I ask making him laugh.

"Alright. I want you back on my team, Syd." I fight the urge to cringe at the name.

"So does every body else." He smiled.

"I let you have him, you work for me again." _Damnit! _My mind is stringing together odd obscenities now.

"Alright." Thomas smiled and picked up my hand to kiss the back of it.

"Alright, mademoiselle. I will leave you to it." I shoot him a smile and then turn my attention to el stupido. He left, shutting the door tight behind him.

"That was the only way out." I nod but begin searching around the room anyway. With his life in my hands and probably about fifteen different guns trained on the back of my head, I had to think quick.

"I hate you Sark."

Monsieur. Gars Dur- Mr. Tough Guy


	2. Futures and Flashbacks

**A/N: SORRY YOU'VE HAD TO WAIT SO LONG FOR AN UPDATE, THINGS HAVE BEEN CRAZY ON MY END. THE FLASHABCK IS IN BOLD, SYD'S THOUGHTS ARE IN ITALICS.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN OR AM IN ANY WAY AFFILIATED WITH ALIAS OR GOLDFRAPP… Blah, blah, blah…**

"_I hate you Sark." _To this, he laughs. "Why must you lie to me love." I scoff, ignoring him now. I'm still scanning the room leaving him tied to that God awful chair. I can tell by the look on his face he's becoming agitated. Then I had an idea. "Where's your gun?" He sighs and all of a sudden I begin to feel stupid for asking. "Thomas." I mutter his name under my breath.

"Yes. Your lovely French friend has all kinds of my weapons." I laughed then. The insanity of the situation was just too much. "Okay, here." I took the knife out of my boot and cut him free. I slid the gun into his hand and nodded at him. I helped him up and then turned around.

"Thomas! Thomas!" Thomas rushed into the room as planned. Sark has a gun to my temple and Thomas' eyes grow wider than I'd thought humanly possible. He retrieves a weapon, one I almost am willing to bet is Sark's. I can't decide if he's aiming at me or at Sark. "Let her go and you and I can work it out." His accent was much rougher than Sark's and it was grating on my nerves. Sark lets out a mirthless chuckle. "If by work it out you mean you can shoot me, I think not. Miss. Bristow is my one ticket out of here in any other way than a body bag. I've been in the business long enough…" I snort, cutting him off. This irritates him, he can't stand to be interrupted.

I am rewarded with him digging the gun into my temple, causing me to involuntarily flinch. Thomas sees and takes a step forward. Sark tsks and tightens his hold on my neck, shaking his head. "Not today Mr. Killgore." Sark begins to maneuver us around Thomas towards the door. "Wait." Sark pauses slightly, but Thomas still can't find a crack in his human shield. "Let me go first, so the men don't make any mistakes." Sark eyes him warily, then nods.

Ten minutes later we're out of the facility in Sark's car, speeding away. He keeps glancing over at me every so often but I don't look at him or respond when he speaks to me. _We could have both been killed just then. _That's the thought that keeps running through my mind. Of course, it's followed closely by _and all you could think about was Sark._ We get to the hotel and we know we must keep the act up so he walks behind me, the gun concealed between us. He's applying a slight pressure to my lower back and I know Vaughn is going to have a field day with this. Then a new thought occurred to me and I readied myself. We were in the hotel room now. I went straight into the bedroom while he did whatever he did. _We both could have been killed… and all you could think about was Sark. _I slide into something slightly more comfortable and then realize that I still have the maid outfit.

The knock at the door comes later than expected. We'd been in the room for ten minutes now. "Sydney, please. I know you're angry, but please…" The door swings open and I know he is surprised. I pull him to me by his shirt collar and shove him against the door. For a moment I see fear and then a split second before I fused our lips together I saw the want that I knew was there all along.

"You're hot when you beg." I say lightly as I start to undress him. I push him on the bed when I'm done. "You're hot when you put yourself in control." I feel the urge to giggle and then push it down. I hit a button on a remote and music starts to play. _Crystaline Green _by Goldfrapp came on and I began to undress myself, slowly and teasingly. This song was so sensual and it empowered me more. He swallows deeply as I slide off my shirt. My hips are moving in time with the music now. I slide my pants off my hips and let them fall to the ground, when I step out of them, his eyes meet mine. I unclasp my bra and let it slide down my shoulders slowly. When that's done I feel Sark grab onto me and pull me closer. _Vaughn would have a field day with this. _I turn the music up louder.

He's kissing, licking, biting every inch of exposed skin at first I bite back the moment and then I think, _what the hell?_ I moan and arch into him. My whole body is on fire. Then he picks me up and tosses me onto the bed making me laugh. He smiles at me and crawls over me. He finds my pulse point and I don't even think about trying not to moan. I couldn't have stopped it if I'd tried. "Like that love?" He whispers to me and I arch into him as a response. I don't trust me voice right now.

He looked down at me, stopping all his ministrations, and looked deep into my eyes. He pushed a stray hand of hair out of my face and then he smiled at me. I couldn't remember if I'd ever seen a real smile from him or not. All I knew was I wanted to see it a lot more often. He leaned down slowly and kissed me gently, teasing me. "Tell me what you want." He whispers to me and I know I have to find my voice at some point. I lean up to his ear and nibble the shell of it, then whisper. "Make me scream your name." He shuddered over me slightly and I smile up at him innocently. "My pleasure."

When I woke up the next morning, Sark wasn't there and my heart sank. I rolled over to his side of the bed and saw a note on the pillow.

_Darling Sydney,_

_I apologize for having to leave you this morning. Order up some room service for us, I'll be back in a little bit. You looked so peaceful, I wanted to let you sleep as long as possible._

_Always,_

_J._

I can't stop the smile that comes to my face. I sigh and roll over, tucking the note into my bag. I ordered up room service and waited. I start thinking about how we even got in this situation.

"'**Lo, love." I scoff. This has been the worst week ever and now I have to deal with his pompous ass. I could be somewhere doing a million other things. I had reports to finish from the latest mission, I could be learning op tech for my next mission with Marshall, I could be doing extra briefing and research with my partner, I could be home sleeping. "Sark." He smirks up at me and I wonder if he always does that when he's handcuffed to chairs. I sit in front of him and fold my hands on the table in front of me. He begins to mimic my actions before he realizes that he can't. I almost laugh. He scowls at me and I hide my amusement. **

"**What can I do for you?" The mischief returns to his eyes and I roll mine. "If you're just here to waste my time, I wish you wouldn't." He half-nods at her. "Alright, Agent Bristow. I'll tell you why I'm here." I want to roll my eyes at him, but fight the urge. "I want to come clean. You know my loyalties are-" He pauses here, for effect I'm sure. "-flexible." I sigh then. I know all too well. "I want to trade my freedom for some rather-" Another pause here. It's really starting to piss me off. "-lucrative secrets." Now I'm beyond agitated with him. "Why did you request me then? I'm not authorized to do that."**

**His eyes glint again and I regret asking now. "Because you are the star CIA agent. Surely you can help me out a little." I shake my head at his cockiness. "You're going to have to give me something first. I'm not handing that to you for nothing at all." He nods and pops his knuckles. "Valdamir Kassani, you know him don't you?" Now he's trying to push my buttons. "I can give you directions to his headquarters." I stand and walk to his side of the table. I unlock his right cuff and push a pen and notebook towards him. I didn't say anything, just looked at him expectantly. He rubbed his right wrist absently and I almost felt bad for cuffing him so tight. **_**Almost but not quite. **_**He scribbles out a crude map and almost diligently hands it to me. **

**I start to leave the room when he stops me. "You aren't going to recuff me Agent Bristow?" I pause. "I didn't know I needed to." Then I left. **

**I went to Dixon, showed him the map, explained the situation. He was wary at first, like we all were. So we brought in the one person we thought we could trust. One Jack Bristow. He wasn't happy about it. I suggest we wait until after the raid. "If we take him down, then Sark can get what he wants. Let's put him on a probationary period. We confirm the information as we get it, the second he slips up slap his ass in a cell." I say it all quickly. I've been thinking about it since I walked into Dixon's office. "Alright." Dixon has always agreed with me, usually even when I was wrong.**

"**I'll go tell Sark." Both men nod affirmative to me. I came back into the room and repeat the plan. I begin to leave again, when he stops me once more. "You might want to wait on that raid for about a week. He should be in Russia right now with his family. In a week, he'll be back." I nod and wonder if he really wants to come clean.**


	3. Almost Confrentations

**A/N: SORRY YOU'VE HAD TO WAIT SO LONG FOR AN UPDATE, THINGS HAVE BEEN CRAZY ON MY END. **

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN OR AM IN ANY WAY AFFILIATED WITH ALIAS Blah, blah, blah…**

"I take it you ordered something good." I hear his voice filter through the room and cringe. I hear him toss his personal affects on the table near the door and I can feel him coming closer to the bedroom. Part of me wishes he's just turn around and walk out. "Sydney?" His voice is louder now, more urgent. "I told you Mr. Sark, it's Agent. Bristow to you." His cool mask goes back into place and I wish that we could be unguarded all the time with each other. _Woah, where the hell did that come from?_

"Of course, Agent Bristow." He shoots a smirk my way and I fight the urge to cringe again. "Agent Vaughn." The greeting is cordial and icy, the same as always. I see Vaughn's jaw tighten out of the corner of my eye and I try to deflate the situation as quickly as possible.

"The agency is happy with our work." I tell Sark, his eyes finally finding mine. "Aren't they always?" I give him a half smile and chuckle a little.

"More so this time. The pictures we took supplied a lot of information to them that they needed." He nodded, seemingly unaffected.

"And the disk?" I was confused now.

"What disk?" His eyes snapped to Vaughn. "What disk, Sark?" Now, I'm angry.

"There was a disk that I recovered off of Mr. Killgore when he was 'capturing' me." He said the word "capturing" with disdain. Like he couldn't believe that Thomas actually believed that he could capture him.

"Vaughn?" I look to him for confirmation. When he won't meet my eyes I know. I cross my arms over my chest and fight the urge to hit something. Okay, someone.

"The disk isn't important Syd." Sark snorted from the side of the room where he was propped cooly against the wall. When I turned my angry gaze to him, he simply shrugged.

"Vaughn, my partner and I need some rest." I tell him without my eyes leaving Sark.

"Partner?" There's definite alarm in Vaughn's voice. _Good,_ I think.

"You know, the one who trusts me to tell me everything about a mission and what happens on it. And the items we recover while on them. We'll be in touch."

I stand and move into the bathroom to leave him alone. I hear the two exchange some words and one of them leave. There's a soft, almost timid, knock on the door and I am just so sure it's Vaughn. I swing the door open, angrily and then there he is. "Hi." His voice is soft, a warm smile adorning his lips. I feel my anger dissipate. "Hi." I return his smile and he moves closer to me and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Are you alright, love?" I gave him a small smile and moved into his arms. He seems to understand, letting the subject drop. "What was on the disk?" My voice is quiet, just above a whisper. "You know I'm not supposed to be knowledgeable enough to answer that question, Agent Bristow." The amusement in his voice carried over and I chuckled. "Ah, but Mr. Sark, we have met before. So…" I drag the word out, giving him time to formulate a response.

He took my elbow gently and sat with me on the bed. "Information. Classified, of course. Encrypted. _Very _encrypted." The last was severe annoyance. "However, I copied it." I looked up disbelievingly at him. "What do you mean?" He glanced down at me briefly and stood. I was worried he'd quit talking to me. Instead, he surprised me. "We're partners. I trust you with the honest, full, complete truth. Do you trust me?" I let his words sink in for a moment and then nodded. "I copied the disk because of the information that is on it." I gave him a look, silently prodding him to continue. "It was about your parents, Sydney. Mainly your mother."


	4. Trust

**A/N: SORRY THE UPDATE'S TAKEN SO LONG... BUT HERE IT IS. IT'S A FILLER CHAPTER FOR WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.**

_**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN OR AM IN ANY WAY AFFILIATED WITH ALIAS... BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...**_

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(¸... ¸.•..'

"What does my mother have to do with any of this?" He sighs and leans away from me a bit.

"Well, not just her, you see." Confusion begins to set in.

"But you said-" He cuts me off.

"Yes. The information pertains to your mother." He pauses here. "Your mother. Me." There's another pause and I'm becoming uncomfortable. "Your father as well." I cringe away from him. That's not possible. "I'm afraid that's not the worst of it darling." I brace myself, trying to prepare for whatever could come next. "And Arvin Sloane." Then he moves away from me and my body groans at the lack of contact, even if we weren't touching.

"You've always known that my loyalities-" he said 'loyalties' like a dirty word- "have been flexible in the past." He turned back to me and looked me dead in the eye. "Until most recently, I was perfectly content with that. And now..." He trailed off and I wondered where he might be taking that.

"So you're all-" Again he cuts me off.

"Working together? Heavens no, Sydney!" He's in a rush to reassure me again and I wonder why briefly. "I said there was information pertaining to us all on the disk. My affiliations with Arvin Sloane ended around the same time yours did. And I doubt you honestly believe that your father and I could work together peacefully." I tried to hold back a smile at this. "Exactly." Again he started moving around and I wish he'd spit it out already. "Sloane and your mother, as you know, at one time formed an alliance." I nodded in painful consent. "And your mother and father..." He shot me a smirk before continuing. "And your mother and I." Again I nod. "There's also information on the disk about you."

"But-"

"You've never formed an alliance with your mother?" He finished for me.

"Exactly! You said that's what the information was about." He is staring at me now and I wonder if there's something I'm missing. And then it hit me. "Why did we retrieve information that we already had?" He nods, encouragingly. "There was something else on the disk wasn't there?"

"Of course there was Sydney." And the sick feeling that settles into my stomach doesn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon.


	5. Blast from the Past

**Author's Note: So it's been almost literally forever since I've updated, but I'm slowly getting around to all sixteen of my active stories. Dark Angel and Gilmore Girls updates are up. So, I'm excited to be back and here it is. R&R give me some feedback. Love it? Hate it? Ideas for direction? Let me know. **

**~Goodnight and good luck.**

**PREVIOUSLY ON FACE DOWN  
**

_"But-"_

_"You've never formed an alliance with your mother?" He finished for me._

_"Exactly! You said that's what the information was about." He is staring at me now and I wonder if there's something I'm missing. And then it hit me. "Why did we retrieve information that we already had?" He nods, encouragingly. "There was something else on the disk wasn't there?"_

_"Of course there was Sydney." And the sick feeling that settles into my stomach doesn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon._

"There's information pertaining your sister on the disk." I shake my head, trying to process that information.

"Wait..."

"You don't have a sister? But you do Sydney. And a lovely niece, might I add, in Argentina." I don't think I can breathe now. There's something stuck in my wind pipes blocking all the airflow. "Breathe Sydney." The command is so harsh that it seems to cut through everything else.

"Don't tell me what to do Sark." He chuckles at me and nods.

"Listen darling. I'm not sure what's going on here with us, but I do know that this information on this disk is going to be extremely dangerous to your family and everything that you hold dearest to you. I'm all for getting angry at Wrinkles but as of yet, that's not the most appropriate way to handle it." He pauses and his eyes find mine. "Unless that is, you want to defect and come work for me and we can handle this my way."

I did something I'd never thought about doing before. "Let me see the disk."

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(¸... ¸.•..'

"Jack, you know what's happened don't you?" It's Weiss' voice that filters through the hustle and bustle.

"Yes. He's cracked the encryption. Good." Weiss nods and leaves the room to be flanked by Vaughn.

"I think they're intimate." Weiss laughs at this piece of information.

"Nah, Sydney's got a good head on her shoulders man. I wouldn't think twice about it." Vaughn starts to protest, typical Vaughn style when Eric cuts him off. "No really, don't." The tone in his voice made Vaughn move back and cleared the way for Eric to get back to his desk just in time for the phone to ring. "It's done." And the line disconnects.

¸.•¨) ¸.•¨) ¸.•¨  
(¸... ¸.•..'

**"I'm just saying, Irina, is it really that necessary that we do this?" A hit or two and he'd be in fine shape.**

**"Don't question me, boy." He stood ramrod straight and she continued her lesson. **

**"I want his wallet. And his hand. You have fifteen minutes." The boy nods and leaves quietly leaving Irina to stare at a photo of her holding two beautiful baby girls.**

TBC....

A/N: Sorry, bit of a writer's block and it's bed time after a long day at work.

PEaCe & love & elephant EARS


	6. 6

Want to know what I've been up to lately? Trying my hand at something of my own. Want to check it out? Check out my profile on the sister site fiction

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Check out Webook, a new way to read and rate original ideas and keep a look out for mine! J

Keep R&Ring and more updates will be up soon!

Thanks!

~P.


	7. A Tear Stained Memory

**Title: Face Down  
**

**Chapter 7:** A Tear Stained Memory

**Disclaimer: **This story is for entertainment purposes only. I do not own anything but my VERY wild imagination.

**Author's Note: **I have been updating quite a few of my fanfictions! You should go look :)

* * *

PREVIOUSLY on FACE DOWN:

"Jack, you know what's happened don't you?" It's Weiss' voice that filters through the hustle and bustle.

"Yes. He's cracked the encryption. Good." Weiss nods and leaves the room to be flanked by Vaughn.

"I think they're intimate." Weiss laughs at this piece of information.

"Nah, Sydney's got a good head on her shoulders man. I wouldn't think twice about it." Vaughn starts to protest, typical Vaughn style when Eric cuts him off. "No really, don't." The tone in his voice made Vaughn move back and cleared the way for Eric to get back to his desk just in time for the phone to ring. "It's done." And the line disconnects.

¸.•¨) ¸.•¨) ¸.•¨  
(¸... ¸.•..'

**"I'm just saying Irina, is it really that necessary that we do this?" A hit or two and he'd be in fine shape.**

**"Don't question me, boy." He stood ramrod straight and she continued her lesson. **

**"I want his wallet. And his hand. You have fifteen minutes." The boy nods and leaves quietly leaving Irina to stare at a photo of her holding two beautiful baby girls.**

* * *

******Ten minutes later the boy returned to her, face tear-stained and eyes bloodshot from his tears. He handed Irina a box with the wallet she had requested and a large male hand. She nodded at him approvingly and stopped to consider him. The boy that stood before her that morning was still there, he need to become a man. And she was just the one to transform him. **

* * *

**A phone ringing filters through Sydney's subconscious and she groans but rolls over in the general direction of the ringing only to be met with something solid. Almost instantly she was awake, gun trained at the object. **

** Sark rubbed his eyes and pushed the gun out of his face. **

** "Didn't mean to startle you, love. Don't worry, it's just mine." He threw his arm over her and pulled her back down onto the bed. **

** "No, I have to get up. I need to..." Sark sighed. **

** "Work can wait. We just barely cracked the encryption. I talked to Weiss this morning once already. He said we have two hours til wheels up. Apparently you're getting a family reunion." His face turned sour at the thought of having to do this to her but it had to be done. **

** "Alright. I'm going to catch a shower." He simply nodded and this time did not move to stop her from moving. He knew she'd go in the bathroom turn the water on and confirm what he had just told her. After all this time... He shook his head and got up to pack them both up. But she didn't turn the water on to cover her voice, simply closed the door and he gave her credit that she deserved as his partner. **

** "Weiss this is a bad idea. I think we should just leave them alone. I'm telling you." There was a pause. "She's got a kid!" Another pause. "Yeah, well..." She sighed heavily. "No, ****_you_**** don't get it. Back off of this. I'm not going." Sark could see the steam shooting out her ears coming up under the door. "Fine!" She slammed the phone down, it was the first time he'd ever witnessed a Bristow fit from her. And his mind drifted back to the last one he'd witnessed.**

* * *

**"You know Sark, I can't believe you could be ****_so_**** weak. You are a weak little boy. I asked for one thing, one thing! And here you are, crying over it." His eyebrows knitted together. **

** "Irina he had a child with him. I wasn't going to do that to her." She stood up at her full stature and narrowed her eyes at him. **

** "When I give you a target boy, you do it. No matter who's watching. You do as I say and you don't get caught." With a backhand worthy of a man, she left her mark on him. He stayed ramrod straight and unmoving.**

** "I won't become cruel." And with that she opened the door and a man appeared and beat him until he couldn't stand for two days. **

* * *

** "Did you hear me?" Her voice brought him back to the present. He shook his head no.**

** "Well, we still have to go. Let's go." Her mood had not improved with the shower and he followed her out with the bags. It was a skill he had learned while under Irina's "care" to perform a task but be somewhere miles and even years away.**

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**A/N: Sorry it's short. I'm kind of at a loss with this story right now, so until I figure out where I really want this to go, I'll try and get the whole "family reunion" chapter up soon :) **


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